View full size'Sam' Boyer/Special to Sun NewsDonald Woods with some of his nature paintings.

Donald Woods says his life has come full circle.

As a child growing up in Akron, he loved to draw and play the violin. He was concertmaster of his high school orchestra and won many art awards, including a national Scholastic Art award. That passion continued when he enrolled at Akron University as a performance major.

“That lasted one semester,” he told a large group at the November meeting of Brunswick Art Works. “When my instructor told me I would be a good music teacher one day, I was shocked. I thought I would be a concert violinist.”

So he put his violin away and switched to a fine arts major, he said. He was selling lots of paintings at fairs and shows, making $4,000 one year when he was earning $1.65 an hour in a retail store.

But when he graduated, life happened.

“I worked in retail and thought I’d paint on the side,” he said, “But I met my wife, we married and had children and for 20 years, my art was on hold because we had responsibilities. We continued to be interested in art, however.

“My wife was a devout churchgoer and we started to go to St. Colette Parish,” he explained. “One day the pastor delivered a homily about how God gives us talents and you should be using those talents, whatever they are.”

He was 40 years old and he said it was his epiphany. His wife, the former Bridgette Dobbins, encouraged him to play the violin at church. After some initial nervousness, he has become a proficient musician and now, at St. Martin of Tours Parish, he plays for Masses, funerals, weddings and more.

He quit his job and went into a one-year program to become a licensed art teacher and for 10 years has been teaching art in the Lorain City Schools. It was something he loved, but financial constraints came along and he, along with many other art teachers, was laid off. While he may be called back, he’s not counting on it. Instead, he is starting to concentrate more on his art.

His acrylic paintings feature his favorite subjects, birds as well as other nature scenes. The family lives in a home with woods in the back and has several bird feeders, so birds are always inspiring him. He explained that he always paints the backgrounds first, adding the landscape and then the bird(s).

He said that entering, and winning an honorable mention, at last year’s Brunswick Art Works exhibition gave him more confidence in continuing, as well.

Both of the Woods’ daughters are continuing their education, Emily in graduate school and Hannah at Tri-C. Woods notes that it is thanks to his wife and her job that is able to make the journey that has brought his life full circle.

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